Rushing Tides
by BlackLily22
Summary: Sent to find yet another Heartless, Roxas and Axel board the Demon's Revenge in hopes of finding it. However tensions are high as the ship gets closer to the monster. When the time arises for a fight though, who will stay afloat and who will fall to the dark depths of the rushing tides? (I'm sorry for the stupid questions:P) Akuroku "Take it As you Want It" Fluff Axel/Roxas POV
1. Chapter 1

XIII  
"Why are we here again?" I asked, staring out at the white crests of the waves. Bobbing along the water, the Demon's Revenge sent a spray of salt water at me for being too far over the edge. Recoiling from the sting of salt, I heard someone guffaw behind me.  
"You want some sea salt ice cream with that spray, Roxas?" Axel joked, slapping me on the back. I wiped his eyes, sticking my tongue out at Axel. Grinning at my reaction, Axel walked to the ship's railing, gazing at the peaceful sunset. The water shimmered with oranges and yellows, a fire dancing on water.  
Looking back at me, and with my eyes now free of the stinging seawater, Axel sighed. "I told you before. Saïx said there was a huge heartless in these waters and he wants you to retrieve the heart. Like any other mission."  
"I know, I know. But Saïx seemed weird when he told us about the heartless," I shook my head at the thought. "Almost like he was worried about us taking this mission."  
Axel raised an eyebrow. "Saïx worried? Are we talking about the same guy here? Don't you remember when Xigbar came back from that mission in Halloween town with two huge cuts from guillotines and seven 2nd degree burns from Detonators, and he went complaining to Saïx. His response? 'Next time watch where you walk and be faster about completing your mission.' I think it's impossible for that guy to care, let alone worry." I stood in silence, contemplating what Axel had said.  
With the sun all but gone from the horizon, a mere orange sliver of light against the blue of the sky and water, Axel turned from the light, heading below deck for the night. "Still, I feel like something was bothering him," I whispered, the sea breeze carrying my words away.  
I closed his eyes, feeling the breeze ruffle my spikes with a gentle touch. Groans and creaks from the decades old planks harmonized with the snaps of the sails and choppy waves. It was no Twilight Town, but I found that being at sea had its own serene lull.  
Eyes beginning to close, I scanned around the deck, looking for a place to sit. My eyes came across a large coil of rope and some bags of grain and I stumbled over to them, not giving a second thought to my bed below deck. Upon reaching the makeshift bed, I collapsed and stared sleepily at the recently woken stars, thinking of what Saïx would have to worry over.

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**A.N~ Tada! A new story! Well not really new, it's been sitting on my computer for over a year, but finally got more of it done so I can start posting chapters here. The title is still a work in progress to be sure, and I'm deciding whether or not to make this merge with another idea I started, but that will come with time. :D**

**In the meantime, hope you enjoyed this short chapter, I will be uploading another in just a second. Feel free to leave your thoughts about it and thanks for reading! :3**

**~BlackLily22**


	2. Chapter 2

VIII  
I was never one for water, and boats were no exception. I could barely hear myself think with all the dreadful stuff slopping around outside the wall let alone try to sleep. How Demyx liked this element I will never understand.  
Giving up on trying to sleep, I decided to visit the Capitan's corridors to see when she thought we would find the Heartless. Getting up, I noticed the porthole in the cabin and taking a minute, gazed outside. Barely above sea level, I could just make out the faint glow of a crescent moon and several stars in the black abyss of the coming night.  
Briskly, I walked down the thin corridors, being thrown to the side on occasion when the Demon's Revenge swayed from a rolling swell. I reached the ladder clumsily, grasping the rungs tightly as I climbed. Another wave crashed into the ship's side, sending me flaying left. When it righted itself, I cursed Saïx for sending me on such a mission and wondered why I even agreed. As I stomped across the deck towards the stern of the ship, a dark shape caught my eye near the railing. Upon closer inspection, I discovered the shape was moving with steady regular motions resembling breaths and peeking beneath a dark hood, blond hair reflecting the moon's beams.  
That's why I had agreed to the mission, I reminded myself as I drew closer to the sleeping Roxas. He couldn't face this heartless alone, not when it was as strong as Saïx said it was, and the last thing I would want to see is him hurt. A quirk of a smile on my lips, I bent down to wake the sleeping figure, but when I briefly touched him, he snuggled deeper into the ropes with a smile on his face.  
Shaking my head, I stood again and continued towards the Captain's cabin. Upon reaching the gold plated door with the words "Captain" I braced myself and knocked. After a few seconds of silence, I knocked again, hearing a gruff "Yes, yes, com'n." The door squeaked as I entered into the elaborately decorated cabin. A table sat in the middle of the room, maps, compasses, sextons, quills, ink, paper, and other items littered the table. The captain's plush red chair was vacant though, and puzzled, I looked around. Walking closer to the table, a frantic cry sliced through the air "Don't take another step!"  
Freezing with a sigh, I bent down, following my ear to where the captain sat. Sitting hunched on the floor beneath the table with several books and maps around her feet, the Captain was frantically flipping through pages, searching for some answer to an unknown question.  
"Uh, is this a bad time Captain?" I asked with one eyebrow raised.  
"What?" she said looking up at me and hitting her head on the desk. She crawled towards me and out from under the desk, grumbling and rubbing her head. For such a mighty ship as the Demon's Revenge most would expect a raucous and stern man who rarely listened to anyone else. Well, take away the man part and Captain Shietzo was just that. Although slight in stature, her exposed arms and legs revealed years of hard labor leaving them forever tanned and lean. Her hair was an oily auburn that framed her oval face and her hazel eyes gleamed with a sly, mistrusting look behind a pair of thin glasses posed on the tip of her nose. Some would call her a natural beauty, but behind the auburn hair and skin, a panther slinked.  
"What do you want at this time of night, Axel? I was in the middle of an important discovery about the possible location of a mythical treasure that few have ever set eyes on or heard about. What is so important that you had to interrupt me?" she huffed at me.  
"And this treasure, just where is it?" I asked skeptically.  
She thought for a moment, then replied, "What treasure?" Rubbing my temples, I shook my head with disbelief. Even though I respected Captain Shietzo and all she could do, she was the most scatter-brained individual sometimes.  
Walking to her chair, she fell back into it with a certain amount of grace as she then put her feet up on the table. "Is this about that gigantic creature you've been searching for, Adam?"  
"It's Axel, Captain, and yes it is. When do you think we will find the monster?" I sighed impatiently.  
Her eyebrows furrowed, and putting her feet down, she leaned her elbows on the table as she glared at me. "Do you understand just what we are searching for here?" She snapped. "This monster is not something to be taken as simply another fish to catch. It is a monster born from hell's waters, taller than the highest mast on this ship and with enough strength to capsize ships from a mile away. It is said its eyes ripe all courage you have straight from your heart, leaving nothing but misery and despair."  
She got up suddenly, stalking over to the windows behind her. "No this is no ordinary fish in the sea, mate. I've seen the beast myself and watched a fleet of ships fall before its tentacles." Looking over her shoulder she hissed, "We'll be lucky to even see it and survive to tell the tale, let alone destroy it."  
I shook my head with a smirk on my face. "I'll take that as a no then, you have no clue when we'll find it." I turned from the frazzled woman and headed towards the door, calling over my shoulder, "Thanks for your help and keep me updated."  
As I reached for the knob, I heard a whistle of air followed by a thud. Switching my gaze from the knob to the right of me, I found a dagger quivering in the solid oak frame. Rage filled me as I grabbed the dagger and spun around, roaring, "What's your damn problem? You could have taken my ear off!"  
"Well maybe with one ear you would actually listen to what I have to say," Captain Shietzo screamed back. "This sea monster is no trifling matter! Even a god would have trouble killing this thing, and I can only imagine what it will do to you and a mere boy."  
"We've taken out bigger things before with no problem. Don't worry about us and what we have to do. All you are paid to do is get us to the damn monster and try not to sink the boat along the way. That's it! You aren't here to fight with us, only to get us there," I shouted at her, flailing my arms in anger.  
"It's not you I'm worried about! It's my ship, my crew! I don't want them to go to waste over such a risky mission!"  
"Then why did you agree to it in the first place, if you knew this, huh? Why would you agree to this 'risky' job? What made you say yes and accept our payment then? Well spit it out!"  
"¡El niño, hombre fuego! Eso niño tiene no más que quince años y…" she began. I interrupted, "I don't speak Spanish! What are you saying?"  
She stopped herself and closed her eyes for a moment before starting over. "The boy, Axel. That boy is no more than 15 years old yet here he is with you ready to see his death if it means fulfilling this mission of yours. Although I may seem heartless, I still have a motherly instinct. I refused to see that boy go off under someone else's sail, under the command of another captain who would not care what happened to the boy so long as he got his money. Why your people sent him to do such a deed I will never understand, but so long as that boy wants to complete this ridiculous mission then I will do what I can to help."  
Silence filled the cabin as I absorbed what she had said. "You don't think I realize the danger he's in by him being on this trip? You think I don't care what happens to him so long as I can report back to the Organization saying 'Mission accomplished?' You're damn wrong if you think that. I know the perils of this mission, but he doesn't. To him it's just another easy collection. I came on this mission to protect him. Not have you protect him. Me. Not you, me." I hissed, slamming the dagger through several maps into the Captain's desk.  
"You may not be able to protect yourself," Captain Shietzo said cautiously.  
"You do your job, and I'll do mine, Captain." I called over my shoulder, heading for the door again. As I was exiting the cabin, she uttered but one sentence. "If he gets hurt, it's on your head, Señor fuego."

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**A.N~ See? I told you it'd be quick. :D The next chapter will be up in a few days, and after that I don't know. I will continue to write as much as I can when I can. ^^;**

**Hope you enjoyed reading and feel free to leave your thoughts about ****_Rushing Tides_****. :D**

**~BlackLily22**


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